Apr 4, 2017
WHITE HOUSE —
President Donald Trump is to host Chinese President Xi Jinping beginning Thursday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in the southern United States. But the atmosphere may not turn out to be as warm as the Florida weather.
President Trump telegraphed on Twitter his prognosis for his first encounter with China's president, saying it will be a “very difficult” discussion, since the U.S. can “no longer have massive trade deficits and job losses.”
At a White House meeting, Trump told U.S.-based manufacturers they will find it “interesting” to watch his meeting in Florida with Xi.
“I look very much forward to meeting him and the delegation. And we'll see what happens,” Trump said.
The Chinese leader likely won't arrive empty-handed.
“I foresee that the Chinese will send Xi here with a pretty large and generous gift package, in terms of domestic infrastructure investment here in the United States, and help President Trump to create jobs that he had promised to the voters,” Stimson Center Senior Associate Yun Sun told VOA.
Some China watchers caution that not everything may go according to script, as this early in the Trump administration much is still unwritten.
“Something crazy could happen unexpected, certainly. You know one tweet could change the trajectory of the meeting to some extent,” says Scott Kennedy, deputy director of China studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “But I expect it's going to be a lot of complaining without a lot of negotiation, specifically, and then the Chinese will leave nervous, anxious. And eventually the other shoe will drop.”
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has noted several “big problems” between the United States and China.
“Everything from the South China Sea to trade to North Korea. There are big issues of national and economic security that need to get addressed,” he told reporters. “And I think there's going to be a lot on the table when it comes to that over the two days that they will talk.”
The president, before getting to the White House last year, talked tough about China. He vowed punitive trade measures. But there has been no such action, so far.
“The 45 percent tariff on Chinese exports to the United States — that has not happened. The currency-manipulator label that he promised has not happened,” notes Yun.